Denver’s water department releases cringey Backstreet Boys parody video featuring tips to limit summer water use
Denver’s water department has released a creepy Backstreet Boys parody video with tips for residents on how to limit water use during the summer.
A group of collaborators known as the “Splashstreet Boys” portrayed the famous 1990s boy band and turned their 1999 hit “I Want It That Way” into “I Water That Way.”
The gripping choreographed video featured five members of the company’s communications team, including Steve Snyder, Micky Boehm, Jimmy Luthye, Nathan Hayes and Jill Harclerode, sporting raised facial hair.
The crew were seen dancing, singing and wearing ’90s-inspired outfits as they demonstrated how to water properly outside in the heat. They were cheered on by a group of rowdy fans and were accompanied by a running toilet played by the company’s manager, Patrick McCoy.
The Backstreet Boys took to the company’s Instagram page and praised the parody: “You guys nailed this.”
Five Denver Water employees starred in a parody music video of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” to educate their community about proper summer watering techniques
An employee, Jill Harclerode, is seen rocking out, drawn on facial hair as she dances by a lake with her band, the ‘Splashstreet Boys’
The video begins with a close-up of a lawn sprinkler just before the “Splashstreet Boys” dramatically walk toward the front of the Denver Water building.
A running toilet then approaches the camera before the camera pans back over the performers.
“My garden needs water when it gets warmer,” one of the employees sings as the toilet jumps up and down in slow motion.
“On these dry days, believe I water that way,” he adds as another employee takes center stage to explain why they “want lawns to survive.”
As he sings his part, his bandmates dance around him as he says, “Concrete just doesn’t fly. So I say: I water that way!’
The band then introduces the song’s iconic chorus and lists the reasons “why” people should only water their lawns at a certain time of day.
Dressed in all white, each member stands in front of a new backdrop and dances around as they fade in and out, just like the original Backstreet Boys music video.
The video then shows one of the employees pouring water from a can onto a lawn just before performing a backflip. The texts start to slow down and the background becomes dark.
‘I water at night. This seems correct. That’s how I water,” he sings as he spills more water on the grass.
Another employee wears a patchwork denim bucket hat, a denim blazer and blue sunglasses.
The group heads to a nearby lake while dancing and singing on shore.
They all sing: ‘Do not water during the day, do not water in the sun. Tell me why?’
The group recreated the iconic ‘I Want It That Way’ music video and had a crowd of fans surrounding them, shouting with large posters
Denver Water employees almost recreated that moment as they danced around and even faded in all-white outfits
The Backstreet Boys even saw the video and said the employees “NAIMED” him
The Backstreet Boys in the original video shot at Los Angeles Airport in 1999
The band explains that if people water their lawns and plants during the day, the water will evaporate. Harclerode then makes her big debut while her colleagues dance around her.
“Now I see you’ve taken the water rules to heart, baby,” she sings.
‘So stop wasting water, start doing your part… The future is in your hands!’
She then splashes water around and the toilet reappears as the chorus comes around again.
Now, inside the company’s building, the group continues to dance and sing as “fans” surround themselves with signs that recreate the iconic video.
An employee then sings, “What’s Coloradoscape?”
‘More climate-friendly landscapes. More plants that like it in our state.”
They then research another state and say, “No, we’re not Kentucky. Drought-friendly never felt so great! I’ll water in a minute.’
A member then goes up to one of the fans and kisses her hand before telling people not to water more than three days a week, and not from 10am to 6pm.
A fan is seen holding up a sign with “HOA” on it as she cries and the band sings, “Somebody tell the HOA (forget the HOA) I water that way.”
‘Fans’ are seen cheering on the band with signs reading: ‘Save Water’ and ‘I love toilet’
At the end of the video was an additional clip of the company’s CEO Alan Salazar (center) dancing around and kissing the running toilet.
They then join their group of fans and a security guard who joins in the fun.
“You live in Colorado…You want it to be habitable,” they sing.
“I just wanna hear you say, I water like that,” they sing at the end of the video.
In an additional clip at the end of the video, Denver Water CEO Alan Salazar joins the action and says, “I water that way,” as he kisses the toilet, rubs it, and then says, “I’m going regret this so much. ‘
As people laugh, one of the band members says, “We’re already here.”
Commenters flocked to the parody video and responded to the unique performance.
One said: ‘This is how you spend tax money!’
Another said: ‘Increases. You all get a raise.”
“I have never been more motivated to be water conscious in my life,” one commenter wrote.
While some enjoyed the video, others made it clear that they disapproved.
“Stop supporting the lawn industry with this stupid lawn.” Barf,” one person wrote.
“This was a waste of money,” said another.